Ls Magazine Ls Land Ls Dreams Ls Model Ls Island Bd Company Lsm Issue

[Carolynn Jones]

Marketing is the final link in the commodity chain. Prior to the1961 revolution travel to the island was marketed by travel agents, touroperators, airlines, and hotel and resort chains as a pleasure island of sun,sand, sea, sex, and cultural stereotypes. Cuban culture was emphasized almostexclusively in terms of Afro-Cuban dance, Cuban rumba, mambo, cabaret,gambling opportunities, cigars, and alcohol (Schwartz 1997). Ads in touristmagazines throughout the 1950s such as the monthly Organizacio'n deRevistas y Publicacio'nes Asociadas (ORPA), Cabaret Magazine, Revista,and publications by Cuban Airlines commonly featured native Cuban womendancing with maracas and native men with sombreros and bongos (for a reviewof Cuban advertisements go to www.cuban-exile.com). These travel magazineswere also laden with adds for alcohol and Havana's most fashionablenightclubs. Other ads featured poses of some of the most famous chorus girlsfrom Cuba's cabarets, and some exclusively compared Havana to Las Vegas.One 1956 issue of ORPA described chorus girls and cabaret dancers as"beautiful women of the dark eyes and long lashes, of the fairest,healthiest and most ivory-like complexions in the world" (CubanInformation Archives 1956). Throughout the 1950s, issues of Cabaret Magazineadvertised Cuban Airline's "Tropicana Special," or"Cabaret in the Sky." This package deal between the Cuban nightclubTropicana and Cuban Airlines consisted of a roundtrip flight from Miami toHavana, dinner and drinks at the Tropicana, and an overnight hotel stay inCuba. On the airplane tourists were able to enjoy drinks, Latin music (whichincluded a stage with a piano and dancers), and dancing in the aisles forboth travellers and the inflight cabaret dancers. These festivities attemptedto "help travellers make the transition from Miami to the balmy air ofthe land of daiquiris and sex of Havana's Jose Marti' Airport"(Cabaret Magazine 1958).

ls magazine ls land ls dreams ls model ls island bd company lsm issue

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Much contemporary tourism promotion and marketing now takes placeover the Internet. The Internet has had a dramatic effect on the governanceof the tourism industry because it allows consumers to surf through variouswebsites to look for information about their trip destination, prices, andfeatures (Paraskevas and Kontoyiannis 2005; Christensen 1997). E-commerceagencies and online travel companies make arrangements with national andservice providers that allow consumers to book hotels and make travelarrangements via the World Wide Web. There are several portals and onlinetourism and travel websites, guides, and agencies that focus on Cuba. Acursory glance at these sites reveals that many of them categorize touristdestinations to the island into sun, sand, and sea; cultural tourism; natureand eco-tourism (many featuring hiking, cycling, and kayaking); culturaltourism (featuring music and dance); and promotions for cruises. Many sitesencourage visitors to stay in a casa particular, which is the home of a localCuban. These are marketed over the Internet as a way to help travellers getto know and help "real" Cubans and support the small private sectorin Cuba. Though this provides another example of how the tourism industry isshifting the Cuban economy toward a market-based capitalist model, these casaparticulars are heavily monitored and taxed by the state. Like othertourism-related activities, these ultimately benefit the state and itssocialist agenda.

Cuba is also starting to focus on region-wide marketing andproduct differentiation among particular destinations both on the island andwithin the Caribbean (Henthorne and Miller 2003). It has joined the CaribbeanTourism Organization and has various multidimensional and joint-venturearrangements negotiated with Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, andGuatemala. To promote and market Cuban tourism outside of the Caribbean,MINTUR has opened offices in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, England, France,Germany, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Venezuela, China, Serbia,Montenegro, and Holland (Aguilar 2006). MINTUR has also established strategicalliances with some of the most distinguished international tour operatorsand hotel chains for specific promotions (Kirkpatrick 2003). For instance, in2004 the first TV campaign for Cuban tourism, in collaboration with SolMeli'a and Travelpan (a major Spanish tour operator), was broadcast inSpain to promote a combined destination featuring sun, beaches, andCuba's historical cities. In 2004 MINTUR, together with Sol Meli'aand Mexican tour operators, launched a campaign in Mexico to promote familytourism on the island. Additionally, Cuba has undertaken a marketing blitzvia television, magazines, and billboards in Canada offering cheap packagetours and charter flights (Kirkpatrick 2003; Rohter 1995). This is an attemptby Cuba to target Canada's long-term tourists, the"snowbirds," who typically spend much of the winter in Florida.China is another market Cuba is aggressively trying to tap into. The numberof Chinese tourists visiting Cuba grew by 40% between 2003 and 2004(Havanajournal 2005). China shares an agreement with Cuba that permits Asianagencies to promote and market organized group tours to the island. There arecurrently 40 Chinese travel agencies in Havana that work with Cuban stateagencies to organize tourist packages in Cuba.

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